


chapter 1: first steps

by rogueonestan



Series: When Our Paths Cross [2]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, I have no idea what to tag this LOL, Partners to Lovers, Partnership, Some Humor, Some Plot, Undue Seriousness, din is serious but he's trying to open up in his own ways alright
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29245380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rogueonestan/pseuds/rogueonestan
Summary: after returning yet another bounty to the Guild, you and the Mandalorian receive an underground job that will be your first steps towards your journey together
Relationships: Din Djarin/Original Female Character(s), Din Djarin/Reader, Din Djarin/You, The Mandalorian/Reader
Series: When Our Paths Cross [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138634
Kudos: 6





	chapter 1: first steps

The only noise that can be heard in the Razor Crest is the slight humming that surrounds you. With your feet tucked underneath you, the feeling of peace runs through your veins, a feeling you haven’t felt since you were a child. The longer you sit in your current position, the more at peace you feel.  
After everything you’ve experienced in your lifetime, you always know the simple act of  
taking a moment to yourself can help clear your mind, a habit that you developed over the years and at one point in time, was second nature to you when you were younger.  
You don’t realize how much time has passed since Mando left you alone on the ship, it couldn’t have been more than an hour or two, but you get the feeling deep down that he’ll be back any minute now.  
And somehow your question is answered because the sound of the hatch door opening from the lower levels can be heard, followed by a few panicked shouts.  
Your feet lightly hit the floor in response as you begin to get up when suddenly an unfamiliar figure makes their way into the cockpit, muttering to themselves as they sit in the only available passenger seat- the one on your right. Unlike the man you just met, your Mandalorian partner seems to be unphased by this as he makes his way to the pilot’s seat without acknowledging his worries.  
“What’s his problem?” You ask as the man next to you continues to mutter to himself of wanting to leave this planet as quickly as possible.  
“Ravinak.” Your partner answers as he messes with the controls to get the ship airborne, only to be interrupted by a rather harsh tug on the ship.  
Once again, Mando ignores the man’s worries as he continues his efforts to leave this planet as soon as possible.  
But what makes your partner get out of his seat is a particularly aggressive jolt that can be felt throughout the entire ship. His whole body nearly collides with the console panel in front of him. If you didn’t have such a tight grip on the sides of your seat, you would’ve collided face-first on the harsh, cold floor.  
The man on your left, presumably the bounty that you both came to this ice-cold planet for, just yells at your partner to get the three of you out of here as soon as possible. As if he isn’t doing that already.  
As Mando grabs his pulse rifle that resides right outside the cockpit door, you glance out the window that’s to your right, finally being able to glance at the creature that’s been responsible for all of the chaos that’s been happening the last minute or so, latching itself on the exterior of the ship.  
It’s not long after that the creature finally releases its grip on the ship as the Crest gets airborne to fly back to the familiar planet of Nevarro. The mythrol that’s currently sitting next to you no longer vocalizes about his anxieties, but rather confesses about his gratitude to Mando about nearly escaping death.  
Maybe he’s still shaken up by the whole ordeal he just experienced or he’s a curious man by nature, but the man sitting next to you can’t seem to keep quiet or be still. He asks the two of you several questions, like how the two of you met or where you’re from, but his main interest is your mysterious partner. He asks Mando several questions about the Crest and about his culture, but Mando never utters a word.  
In all of the time you’ve known the Mandalorian, you’ve only gotten very vague answers when it comes to the topic of his people. You’ve asked questions of what life is like to be completely hidden from the galaxy or even why he has to, but the only reason you’ve gotten is, ‘this is the Way.’  
At some point, the mythrol gives up altogether of asking your partner questions and the familiar feeling of silence fills the air. With the occasional beeping from the console or a deep sigh coming from your partner, the silence that has been heavily present in your life lately returns.  
“I think I have to use the vac tube.” The mythrol begins as he breaks the silence, “I mean- I could do it here, but if you’ve never seen a Fledgling Mythrol evacuate their thorax, you’re a lucky one, trust me.” Standing up to his feet with his hands still bound, the mythrol continues, “I’m gonna look for that vacc tube, if it’s all the same to you?”  
“Down the ladder on your right.” You comment.  
“Thank you.” The blue man says as he makes his way out of the cockpit, leaving you two alone as silence lingers in the air for a few seconds, only for the mythrol’s voice to be heard from the lower level as he chats away about anything. The longer he’s out of your sight, the more suspicious you grow of your bounty.  
“He’s got a big mouth, huh?” You comment as the man downstairs continues to talk about whatever comes across his mind.  
Mando doesn’t say anything in return, only a heavy sigh can be heard from him as he turns around in his seat, looking at you with a slight tilt of his helmet, “is that a jab at me? Because I don’t have as big of a mouth as he does.”  
The Mandalorian doesn’t say much in return, only humming in agreement, “of course you don’t.”  
A quiet sound of disapproval escapes from your lips as you furrow your brows at him, “what’s that supposed to mean?”  
“Our first bounty together was able to find us before we could because you were talking so much.”  
Now you’re at a loss for words. Broken words stutter out of your mouth, but you’re unable to respond because events from that day roam through your head as if it just happened yesterday.  
Mando’s helmet only tilts more at you as his words continue to seep through your mind.  
“Okay, you know what?” As you open your lips to say something else, a distant clattering noise comes from the lower level of the ship. You turn your head in the direction of the noise. When you look back at your partner, you see that he’s already getting up from his seat.  
“I’m going to go check on him.” He says as one of his gloved hands touches your shoulder. It’s not often that you have physical contact with your partner, but every time either one of you touches the other, a feeling of warmth enters your bodies- an unspoken sensation that you’ve both experienced without the other knowing. The feeling of warmth leaves your body as you’re left alone in the cold cockpit yet again.  
It's not long before your partner returns back to his seat in the cockpit as the ship continues to make its way back to Nevarro on autopilot. The nonstop comments from the mythrol can no longer be heard from the hull. The familiar feeling of silence looms over the pair of you.  
“Where is he?” You ask as you noticed that the man hasn’t returned back to the upper levels after a few minutes.  
“Carbonite.” You hum in understanding as there’s silence in the cockpit once again.  
After being partners with the Mandalorian for a few months now, you have gotten used to the comfortable silences as you travel from one planet to the next. The soft hum of the Crest’s engine brings back the feeling of peace you felt earlier as you bring the blanket back around your body since it fell on the ground when the ship was being attacked earlier. Closing your eyes, it’s easy to drift off as the humming of the ship brings you comfort.  
The sudden feeling of something shaking your leg wakes you up. Looking to your right, you find the Mandalorian is beginning to get up from his seat, “we’re here.” And with that, he leaves the room as you follow him shortly, disregarding your blanket without a second thought.  
As you make your way to the lower levels of the ship, you quickly grab a jacket from your sleeping quarters, along with your bag that you always travel with, as you make your way deeper into the hull. Wordlessly, your partner makes sure that you’re ready to go by glancing your way before he begins to make his way into town with you by his side.  
Even with the dozens of times you’ve come and gone from this little town, it never ceases to amaze you the various cultures that can be found in such a small area. The various languages that are spoken by the vendors never fail to catch your eye as you quickly glimpse at the boutiques you pass.  
It’s so unlike what you grew up with. Growing up, you’ve only had the luxury of being in one place for a few years before the war changed everything forever. Ever since then, being on the move is all you’ve ever known. It’s something that you’ve gotten used to, something that you accepted as routine. Being partners with the Mandalorian, your routine didn’t change much. The only big change that came into your life began when you first began experiencing the long periods of silence on the Crest. It was unnerving at first, at times you felt like you needed to break the silence just so something can be said, but you’ve learned to embrace the silence, to listen to your thoughts rather than speak them out loud without a second thought.  
The small town that you’re currently walking through is so unlike what life is like on the Crest. Silence can only be heard on the ship. But here, it’s as lively as ever. Vendors are selling various items, whether it’s clothing or food, the citizens of the town are happy with their lives. Friends are reunited as they chat amongst themselves with the biggest smiles on their faces. Strangers walk up to random boutiques as they glance at the items being sold.  
Nevarro may not be your favorite planet to visit, but it oddly feels like a second home to you, besides from the Razor Crest.  
The feeling of home only increases once the two of you step foot inside the crowded cantina. You may not interact with other members of the Guild often, but just being in the familiar environment of the cantina brings a feeling that you can’t put into words. When you catch a quick glimpse of your surroundings, you find the other hunters stop what they’re doing just to look at you and your Mandalorian partner approach the expeditor of the Guild. Their conversations stop momentarily, card games are put on hold, every eye in the room is put on the three of you.  
Greef Karga recognizes your presence as well when he addresses you, “Ah, that was fast. Did you guys catch them all?” Your partner doesn’t say anything in response, only placing the inactive tracking fobs on the tabletop.  
The man in front of you is clearly impressed by how quickly you two were able to finish your jobs. While other Guild members spend their days in the cantina or have a more difficult time bringing in their bounties, you and your Mandalorian partner are able to make any job a quick one.  
As Greef Karga gives the order to remove the bounties from the ship, Mando motions for you to take a seat before him, which you quietly accept. Quickly taking off his pulse rifle, he joins you by your side as Greef Karga scrambles for the appropriate amount of credits for the four bounties.  
Conversation about your next bounties come up, but you can’t seem to pay attention no matter how hard you try. When either one of them finishes a sentence, it goes right out the other ear. You can’t ignore the feeling that you’re being watched. As you turn your head around, you find that everyone has gone back to their usual business, except for one Trandoshan hunter that’s lurking in the far corner of the cantina. A feeling of uneasiness runs through your body as you inch closer towards your partner, a vain attempt of trying to comfort yourself for the moment. Your entire body is stiff, your back completely straight as you try to bring your attention back to the job at hand but you can’t see to get your mind off of the fact that you’ve been able to capture someone else’s attention. Even the feeling of Mando’s warm thigh touching your own can’t seem to bring a feeling of easiness to your body.  
“You okay?” You hear your partner ask you.  
“Yeah- yeah, I’m fine.”  
You didn’t notice it at first, but Mando’s hand managed to find its way to your knee. A light squeeze of your knee is the small amount of comfort that you need as you try to focus on the man sitting across from you.  
When you’re able to focus, somewhat, Greef’s entire demeanor shifts from friendly to secretive, “there is one job.” He begins. He explains how the job is underworld and the client will only meet face-to-face. The uncomfortable feeling you felt earlier only increases. Nothing good could come from this. Your partner accepts the credit chit that the ex-magistrate offers and you feel like you need to get some air.  
“I’ll meet you back at the ship.” You say as you get up from your seat.  
“He’ll be expecting both of you.” He begins, “the client will want both of you present.” You let out a deep sigh, a habit that you’ve begun picking up from your partner as the pair of you exit out of the cantina and make your way to the meeting location for your next job.  
As you make your way through town by weaving down multiple side roads, the feeling of impending doom hasn’t left your system; the feeling only increasing as you get closer to your next location.  
Your partner stops in front of a door that looks exactly like the others you’ve passed but there’s  
something different about this one: a slot next to the doorframe, probably for some sort of security. The feeling of dread only increases as a knot forms in your stomach.  
Taking in a deep breath, you raise your fist to knock on the door, but you’re interrupted by your partner grabbing your wrist. You turn your attention back at him with your head tilting to the side.  
“What’s the matter with you? You've been acting weird all day.”  
“I got a bad feeling about this. Something’s not right.” You refer to the door in front of you.  
“We need the money.” You see no argument there, nodding your head in agreement.  
“I’ll be fine.” You assure him as you force a smile on your face. Your partner seems reluctant but he eventually gives in and releases the grasp he has on your wrist. The moment his hand leaves yours to drop by his side, you wish that that the feeling of his body touching yours, even with the barrier of his gloves, is something you could experience more often. After all of the time you’ve spent together, there only have been a handful of times where both of your bodies have made contact, always by accident.  
Trying to not read too much into it, you shake the silly thoughts from your head as your hand collides with the door, immediately activating the droid that resides next to the door frame. Your partner holds up the chit card he received earlier from the ex-magistrate as the droid grants you both access inside.  
A gonk droid immediately greets you as it begins your escort to your meeting. As you walk inside, you take notice of the interior of the building. More droids can be found, the dim lighting does little to help you to guide your way during your escort.  
Your escort is short-lived by the door at the end of the hall opening. As soon as the door opens, you find out your worries were not in vain. As your partner guides you through the room, you take notice of the four stormtroopers that are acting as protection for the person you’ve come here for: the client.  
It seems like the wind has been knocked out of you, your breath hitches in your throat, as the client breaks the silence, “Greef Karga said you were coming.”  
“What else did he say?” Your partner asks the man as one of his hands motions for you to stay close by his side. At least you’re not the only one who feels uneasy.  
“He said you two are the best in the parsec.”  
Before either of you could respond, suddenly a door to your right opens as a thin, short man now enters the room. Both you and your partner immediately arm yourselves and point your weapons in his direction. The thin man immediately holds his hands up in surrender, obviously afraid of your reaction, “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to alarm.” You flex your finger around the trigger but ultimately slowly begin to lower your weapon. You can’t help but doubt the puny man can actually cause harm to anyone.  
The client gets up from his seat and approaches you and Mando, “this is Dr. Parshing.” He begins as he refers to the man on your right, “please excuse his lack of decorum. Please sit.” He says as he motions to the two seats in front of you, motioning for the troopers to lower their weapons as he makes his way back to his own seat.  
Placing your blasters back in your holsters, both you and your partner take upon the client’s offer and sit in the seats in front of his desk. Once the three of you settle in your seats, the client unravels a piece of cloth to show what was wrapped up inside: beskar. The sliver of metal immediately catches your partner’s attention. The client then goes on to explain how important it is for the both of you to bring back the target, only to have the doctor emphasize this point. All the while your partner’s attention is still focused on the piece of metal that was taken from his people, his thumb lightly grazing it.  
Looking back up at the client, multiple thoughts run through your head. One consistent thought is how in the galaxy did he manage to get a whole comtono of beskar steel? From the limited information that you’ve gathered from the Mandalorian about his culture, his people are now limited in number ever since the rise of the Empire.  
After you’ve both been informed of the details of your next bounty, both you and your partner head towards the exit, neither of you saying a word, only for the client to break the silence yet again.  
“It is good to restore the natural order of things after a period of such disarray. Don’t you agree?” Your hands clutch into fists at your side immediately as you struggle to bite your tongue. As you glance over at your partner, you see he’s doing the same as he has a vice-tight grip on his weapon, with his back and shoulders straightened almost to the point where it looks painful, as he says replies with nothing and motions for you to head towards the exit.  
The air inside the building begins to feel as if it’s getting thicker and thicker with each passing second. The moment fresh air enters your lungs, it feels as if you can finally breathe again. You mutter a ‘kriffin’ Imp’ underneath your breath as you both head back into town.  
Neither one of you says a word to the other as you walk further into town, you continue to glance at each stand as you had before when you first arrived on the planet. You weren’t planning on purchasing anything, but the feeling of a gloved hand on your wrist brings you out of your thoughts.  
“I’ll meet you back at the ship.” He says as his hand breaks contact with you and begins to walk in the opposite direction from you.  
“Where are you going?”  
He just repeats what he said prior, “I’ll meet you back at the ship.” With that, he heads off.  
Every time you’re about to leave Nevarro for your next target, your partner always makes one last stop before leaving- somewhere that he doesn’t tell you. Maybe he has a spouse here that lives here? You’re tempted to secretly follow him to see where he’s going but you immediately disregard the thought. No. If he trusts you enough one day, he’ll tell you- maybe even show you.  
As you continue to make your way through town, your curious thoughts continue to roam through your brain as you aimlessly scroll through the various vendors, none of them piquing your interest anymore. You’re too preoccupied with the thoughts of who your target could possibly be and why the few remnants of the Empire have decided to seek help from Guild members on Nevarro.  
At some point, you follow your partner’s advice and make your way back to the Crest. Once you enter the hull, you immediately disregard your bag and jacket, throwing them nowhere in particular, as you close the hatch door. You’re not sure how long it’ll be until your partner returns, so you figure you might as well make your wait to your usual spot in the cockpit and wait for his return.

All the while you’re doing this, Mando is making his way to the underground covert that he always makes sure to visit before he departs.  
When he first makes his way to the under levels of the covert, a couple of foundings run past them, one accidentally knocking into him. The little one yells out a ‘sorry’ before they disappear around the corner to catch up with the rest of their friends. A soft chuckle manages to escape from Mando’s lips as a few memories from his childhood roam his head. It seems like it was such a long time ago when that was him: being carefree and enjoying the company of others, instead of doing everything that he can do to just survive, something that he was taught when he was taken in by the Mandalorians when he was just a child.  
He hasn’t told you of how he came to be a Mandalorian in the first place, maybe he’ll tell you sometime, or what it even means to be a Mandalorian. So much of his life has been devoted to his people and their beliefs- one of the most important ones being honor. To have honor in one’s actions and to honor your words. Something that Mando has taken seriously all of his life, especially when the two of you first became partners.  
You may not understand his actions all of the time, but every action he has done is to ensure your safety even when you hardly knew each other. He needed to honor his word to you when he promised he would provide for you when he offered the two of you should work together. He needed to honor his promise of keeping you safe by side. He needed to be honorable- for his people.  
But it’s also become so much more than in recent times. He was willing to keep you safe even when you two only spoke to each other only out of necessity, but now it’s so much more. He wouldn’t be able to forgive himself if something happened to you when you were supposed to be under his care. It’s something that needs to do for the other Mandalorians that pass his side- as his actions speak on behalf of the entire covert.  
As he makes his way further inside the covert, he notices how the other members of the tribe are continuing on with their business, unlike all of the attention he grabs every time he walks into the cantina that resides directly above the covert. Some of the other Mandalorians are chatting. Others are walking up and down the hallway.  
At the end of the hall resides a room that has the symbol of his people, the Mythosaur, above the entryway; the same symbol he’s greeted with as he makes his visit each time he’s on Nevarro.  
Once he makes his way inside the room and takes a seat at the table that’s directly in front of him, Mando notices that the Armorer is just finishing up a new pauldron and quietly waits for her to join him at the table.  
Wordlessly, Mando presents the two different payments he received on this trip to the woman: Calamari Flan and a piece of Beskar Steel. The woman in front of him immediately picks up the piece of Beskar, admiring it in a similar manner as Mando had when he first laid eyes on it.  
Upon examining it, the Armorer notices the Imperial symbol on the upper left corner, “this was gathered in the Great Purge. It is good it is back with the Tribe.” With that, she gets up from her seat and collects her tools to begin forging the new piece of armor for the Mandalorian.  
Loud bashing can be heard as sparks from the flames light up the room. With each loud bang that can be heard, horrific memories flash before Mando’s eyes as he waits patiently, without moving a muscle, for the Armorer to finish up. The screams from his childhood village on Aq Vetina. Blaster shots from battle droids terrorize the civilians. Citizens are shot down. Buildings being destroyed while his parents are struggling to find shelter for their son. The flashbacks stop abruptly when the loud clanging noises suddenly stop. With his newly crafted pauldron locked in place, Mando makes his way back to you on the Crest, just like he promised.  
When he finally does, he notices your disregarded items on the floor. Complete silence can be heard throughout the entire ship. As he makes his way to the upper level, he lightly grasps the back of his usual seat and is about to take a seat but notices that you haven’t moved a muscle, not noticing his return.  
“What are you doing?” He asks as he observes you. With your back completely straight, your legs tucked underneath you in a crisscrossed position as your arms lazily rest against your knees.  
“Just something I learned when I was younger.” You reply as you immediately notice the silver pauldron on his left shoulder. You open your mouth to comment on it but ultimately decide against it. If he wants to tell you about it, he will, you tell yourself.  
The familiar sight of dark space greets you as the atmosphere on Nevarro gets smaller and smaller as you get further away. The bright stars complement the dark sky. The sight before you brings a sense of comfort as you look at the back of the silver helmet, “so, where to?”


End file.
